quatre-vingts

See also: quatre-vîngts

French

French numbers ^(edit)

		800[a], [b]
[a], [b] ←  70	[a], [b] ←  79	80	81  → [a], [b], [c], [d], [e]	90  → [a], [b]
		8
Cardinal (vigesimal): quatre-vingts     Cardinal (decimal): huitante, octante     Ordinal (vigesimal): quatre-vingtième     Ordinal (decimal): huitantième, octantième     Ordinal abbreviation: 80e, (now nonstandard) 80ème
French Wikipedia article on 80

Etymology

From quatre (“four”) and vingt (“twenty”), both of which are derived from Latin. The vigesimal pattern of expressing 80 as 4×20, however, is of Celtic origin; see, for example, Welsh deugain (“forty”), trigain (“sixty”), pedwar ugain (“eighty”). (The Latin for 80 is octōgintā.).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.tʁə.vɛ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Numeral

quatre-vingts (invariable)

1. eighty, 80

   Synonyms: (Switzerland) huitante, octante

Usage notes

• When used in a compound, the form quatre-vingt is used, e.g. quatre-vingt-un.
• The term huitante is used in some French-speaking cantons of Switzerland.

Descendants

• Louisiana Creole: katre-vin

See also

• octante
• huitante
• quatre-vingt

Further reading

• “quatre-vingts”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.